Landlord Insurance

Good Landlord Insurance Coverage

What is it?

Landlord insurance is a kind of coverage you’ll likely need should you be renting a room, an apartment or a single family house to tenants. This is somewhat similar to what is known as “buy-to-let insurance,” but there are some important distinctions.

Who benefits?

Landlord insurance is designed for the gamut, from those who are renting out a single room in their home, all the way to those who own and manage multiple properties.

How it works

Landlord insurance policies will often include third-party liability protection for unfortunate events such as tenants destroying property or should the structure itself receive significant damage. If a fire, flood or other natural disaster strikes, the insurance policy will kick in and provide compensation for the expense of re-housing renters who are temporarily left homeless as well as providing assistance for them in finding new dwellings. This kind of a policy can also offer a myriad of other protections, such as help in removing big and heavy items left behind by tenants, like furniture and appliances for example.

Types of coverage

What is known as “contents insurance” handles the costs of damages or the expense for recovery of lost items that the landlord owns. There is liability protection that covers the landlord if a tenant or a guest is hurt on the property and files a claim against the landlord. Other kinds of coverage include rental guarantee, which helps to pay for any rental incomes lost due to a tenant being unable or unwilling to meet his or her obligation. Legal protection is also available for those times when a tenant takes the landlord to court. This can often result in big legal costs to the landlord. Keep in mind that such protections as rental guarantee and legal coverage are not necessarily automatically included in these insurance policies. They will often be available as supplemental or stand-alone policies.

Due to the fact that landlord insurance policy coverage can vary, it is important to seek help from an insurance professional to determine your wants and needs as a landlord in order to obtain the policy that will best fit your needs.